Cyn's Nature Notes: Hopefully on the Road to Recovery and a Green Woodpecker

Sunday 17 January 2016

Hopefully on the Road to Recovery and a Green Woodpecker

Happy New Year

It is Sunday 17th January, it has been such a long time and a hard struggle, often I have thought of my nature notes and been too weak and felt too ill to sit and do them. I first went into hospital on the 4th of July and finally returned home on the 12th of November. However now I have put weight on, my mind is more together and life and I are once again in harmony. Hospital was a long and arduous struggle which continued for more than four months, but once again I have to thank the wonderful staff at Papworth Hospital, from the lung defence team, through Mr Coonar my amazing surgeon, to the great oncology team, I owe all of them so much. Physically I am in poor shape, my lungs are worse than I have ever known them, and the extreme breathlessness has been and and at times still is hard to contend with. I must pay tribute also the amazing care and attention given to me by the physiotherapists, even now in times of extreme breathlessness I hear them in my head gently helping me through. This also applies to the nurses and all the other ward staff, who were so supportive and helpful. I am humbled by them all and so very grateful to each and every one.

This morning I awoke to a wonderfully bright morning, drawing back the curtains Mike said, "You are going to love this, it has snowed", he was right I did love it. My first thought was for the wildlife and while Mike sorted out our breakfasts, I managed to put out the bird and animal food, this was only the third time I have been able to do this and it gave me a great if very breathless lift. Lunchtime came and with it the last of the snow faded, however I can still picture the white covering over the grass and plants and resting along the tops of the tree branches.

My constant companion since returning home has been the daily visits of a female green woodpecker, each day Mike would come in and among other snippets would tell me how every morning while he had breakfasted and readied himself to visit me, he would always see the green woodpecker on the lawn.

Here I have to pay tribute to my husband a very special man in my life, despite being 77 years young, for all the time I was in hospital, each day he drove an 85 mile round trip, to spend several hours with me. We enjoy each others company so much and it was wonderful of him to spend so very much time with me.

Me and Mike in the gardens at Papworth Hospital

I also have to thank Mike for unceasingly feeding the wildlife daily and each evening the fox, despite the hour being so late and Mike so tired. So a big thank you to Mike from the wildlife the fox and me.

On finishing for today I would like to wish each and every one of you a very Happy and healthy New Year.

1 comment:

Anonymous22 January 2016 at 14:39
I was so pleased to find that you have been well enough to write your notes again. Well done to Mike for his support of you and your wildlife friends. I often think of you when feeding the foxes,cats,hedgehogs all that come in the night and are captured on my infrared camera.Like you they give me a great deal of pleasure. I hope you will continue to improve Joyce Heslop
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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.